What most people taking cruises do not realize, is that all cruise ship lawsuits are not supposed to be filed in Florida, no matter where the cruise began. A lawyer who says all cruise ship cases must be filed in Florida is either dishonest or dumb. Every cruise line has different jurisdiction and venue rules.
At least one supposed Miami cruise ship lawyer is falsely advertising that all cruise ship accident cases must be filed in Florida no matter what. This is patently false and ethically improper for a lawyer to say. For example, Princess cruise ship accident attorneys file their lawsuits against that cruise line in California. It really depends upon what the passage contract says on your particular ship.
Americans and foreign travelers enjoy cruise ship vacations with South Florida being the cruise ship capital. But Los Angeles and even Washington State and Alaska are also ports of arrival and departure; and also legal venues to file cruise ship lawsuits. Florida is typically where cruise ship passengers set sail for the Caribbean and other popular destinations. But LA is where they typically set sail for Mexico, for example.
Generally cruise ships have good safety records, but there can be accidents aboard the ship, such as slip and fall accidents, food poisoning and other types of injuries. In even more rare cases there can be accidents including dismemberment, disfigurement and wrongful deaths and even rape by cruise ship employee.
Filing a Cruise Ship Lawsuit After an Accident
These can result in cruise ship passenger lawsuits, after they have been injured aboard the cruise ship. The important fact that most people going on cruises do not know is that it does not matter what port the cruise ship sails from in the United States, not all lawsuits involving cruise ships are supposed to be filed in Florida, and although in some cases these are filed in Miami, they are also filed by Los Angeles accident attorneys , in California as well.
This includes both individual and class action lawsuits, and there are time limitations. The cruise ship injury attorney under the law of contract and certain maritime provisions normally has to notify the cruise line of the intent to bring a legal suit within a six month period after the incident that occurred aboard ship. The legal suit must then be filed in Los Angeles, or some other city like Miami, Florida within one year from the incident.
The good news is that some cruise ship firms, such as Ehline Law, work with Miami cruise injury firms , and vice-verse. So if you live in California, your California attorney can try and settle the case in claim without even suing at all. But if a lawsuit must be filed, and the venue happens to be in FLA, your LA attorney can handle that for you via associated counsel.
Bringing a lawsuit against the cruise line does not always need to be filed in Miami, nor can it always be filed in Miami, even if the injured passenger lives in Miami, or thousands of miles away. This is why it is important to have a cruise ship attorney to represent your lawsuit that is familiar with the maritime laws.
And remember, a lawyer who says all cruise ship cases must be filed in Florida is either dishonest or dumb. If you were injured in a cruise ship accident, contact Ehline Law: 633 West Fifth Street, 28th Fl., Los Angeles, CA 90071; 213-596-9642; 888-400-9721.
